


Servamp- press start!

by Iridescent_Ren



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Christmas present for mahi c:, M/M, Video Game AU, unedited bc of time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 14:12:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13125360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iridescent_Ren/pseuds/Iridescent_Ren
Summary: Mahiru had no idea what he was getting in for when he joined the game 'Servamp', this was only proven when he was pulled into a crazy war between the Servamps and a race to beat the game and win. MERRY CHRISTMAS MAHI <3 ILYSM





	Servamp- press start!

**Author's Note:**

> AHA THIS WILL NEVER LIVE UP TO UR PRESENT AND ITS LIKE, REALLY UNEDITED BUT I HOPE YOU LIKE IT,,, and good luck getting through the 9k or so of this lol.

Mahiru took a deep sigh, sitting down on his bed and taking out the virtual reality headset from the bag, cursing Sakuya internally. The game had been around awhile, Sakuya being one of the pros who had been there since the near start and had crazy levels. He always begged Mahiru to try it but- he never really had time. With having to do all the chores by himself, his uncle always away, there wasn't much time for games. He wouldn't call himself a gamer either. 

But when the game was on such a cheap sale and he knew he had nothing to do for the rest of the holidays… it was hard to resist. It took a second to program the game, asking for voice recognition and a enough photos to form a 3D model of himself. It could be changed in game, but it was a base to start with. When a holographic almost exact copy of himself appeared he gasped slightly, it was incredibly impressive he had to admit. Still weird seeing himself in front of him… 

'Well, here goes nothing' He slipped it carefully over his head and watched the world go black. That was until, he felt himself once more. Mahiru clenched his fist, looking at himself and seeing he was almost transparent wearing the same thing he was when he slipped the headset on. He couldn't feel his fist, but he could still know there was something stopping him from curling his fingers any further. 

"Welcome to Servamp! Please say a username, you will NOT be able to change this in game!" An NPC player appeared, they looked quite basic like a blank canvas but their voice was cheery and welcoming. 

"Uh… hello?" Mahiru called out hesitantly, almost jumping at how his voice sounded. It was his own… but not quite, it didn't feel as if he was talking. 

The NPC smiled a friendly smile, talking a rehearsed speech "Is Uh-Hello your final choice?" Mahiru shook his head violently. 

"No!"

"Welcome to Servamp! Please say a username." It must work based off speech he supposed. A username… he really should have thought about those things before going into the game. ShirotaMahiru would be the simple option, but he didn't really want everyone on the internet knowing who he was. 

"SimpleMahiru" He said out loud, despite knowing Sakuya would tease him relentlessly for the nickname. Though, Sakuya would do that for any nickname he chose. Once he confirmed it, the game went black again. It felt like floating- but not quite at the same time, a small tingling that spread from his fingertips and coursed through his veins. A feeling that was made to feel like he could feel, even if there was still an ever present ghostly transparency to his being. 

Then, he felt the world around him take colour. In front of him was another NPC- no, it appeared to be a player? Surely he wasn't in the game just yet. The player had blonde hair with dyed black tips, red eyes and a badass outfit. Above him was a grey box with a username. 

"TheOneAndOnlyLawless" Lawless grinned at him. "Welcome to Servamp SimpleMahiru! I'm Lawless but you can call me Lawly-chan" The person winked. "No I'm not an NPC, they were having some troubles and were paying a player to do the basic introductions, make sure to give me a good review!" That seemed to make sense, Mahiru nodded with a smile. 

"I'm Mahiru!" 

"Well, yes I can see that." Lawless seemed uninterested again. "Anyway, I'll go through the basics. The game runs a lot on your speech, so if you say 'Menu' to your left a holographic menu will appear like mine just did. However you're the only one that can see it." Mahiru nodded along, seemed simple enough.

"Menu!" He shouted, smiling when a grey transparent box appeared with his code, name, picture and other basic level and stat info as well as a few other tabs for friend requests and such. 

"Great, you see it? Next I'm gonna send you a friend request, accept it. You can unfriend me later if you're a dick." Lawless tapped on his own Menu that Mahiru couldn't read and saw a request literally fly into his inbox. He accepted it pretty quickly. "Nice nice, you're not bad new kid. Next you're gonna pick a class."

"Um… what are the classes?" Mahiru asked with a thoughtful expression. 

"Well first of all there's Brawler. That’s what I am, Brawler's train using raw strength and have an advantage in close combat and hand to hand but are essentially useless long range. They have good defence against other Brawler's but are weak to magic. I'd also recommend doing this if you're physically fit in real life, doesn't matter if you aren't but obviously it's going to be easier to improve your strength if you do it in real life." Lawless explained, flexing for dramatic effect. Mahiru slowly nodded, but the idea didn't quite pop out. He wasn't unfit to say, but he wasn't a bodybuilder. He'd rather something simpler. 

"Next is Assassin. They use swords and daggers, working best through stealth. Work on it enough and you can unlock lock picking skills and small bursts of invisibility. Honestly? Never trust someone in the Assassin class. They're probably gonna take your coins while talking to you." Lawless briefly said, endowing a large frown on his face. "Never trust Assassins specifically one named Tsubaki, that ass!" He threw his hands in the air with a huff of frustration. Mahiru watched him in confusion but took the advice none the less, dodgy working in the dark didn't really suit him either. 

"Then there's the Archers." That sounded more like something he could work with. "It's exactly what it says in the title. Bow and arrow. Pow pow. They also get to ride horses which is pretty cool. They're obviously a long range class so close combat would suck, keep your defences high with this one." Mahiru nodded. 

"I think that one's okay." He said, seeing what else there was first. 

"Hhmm… there's Beast trainers too. Not many pick this though, it's incredibly hard to master. I think nii-san is the only successful beast trainer, the rest tried and had to buy a new account because they're pussies- because they gave up." He shrugged. "But whatever I'll give ya the talk. It's a pretty powerful class, giving you the ability to train and master beasts and enemies alike. Servamp has many mythical creatures that will challenge you or those that lie at the ends of dungeons. Beast trainers can take them out of dungeons and use them against other players, but they can be unpredictable. It's said they can turn on you." Mahiru awed at the class description, it sounded incredible. Obviously nothing for him though, it sounded way for hard for him to even consider. Very impressive though. 

"What else what else…" Lawless tapped his chin in thought. "Mage! Mage class is pretty much like witches, they work with potions and magic! It's amazing the shit they can brew up. One of my brothers, Lily, is a mage and he's constantly working on new spells. Usually illusion spells but that's just his thing. There's a lot of possibilities with this one, it can be difficult to master if you're not suited too it but I think you've got the thing it takes." Lawless gave him a toothy grin. 

"Mage hey…" Mahiru felt a small smile on his face. That was the one. It felt perfect. 

"Oh and of course there's more, but they're mostly ones you can't have. Like the official Servamps!" Mahiru tilted his head. 

"What's the Servamp class?" 

"Aha its reserved for very few people. They're pretty much siblings though they're not really siblings. The class is basically for a set of people who top the game, who've gotten to ridiculous heights the creators never even thought possible. They're incredible. You'd be lucky to ever see one in the flesh, they're kind of celebrities." 

Mahiru nodded and Lawless winked at him. "That sounds amazing."   
�"Ah shit!" Lawless checked the watch on his player. "Shit I'm late for my real life meeting! Lich-tan will MURDER me! Um don't forget to give me a good rating have fun!" Lawless suddenly disappeared into thin air and then the tutorial was over just like that. Mahiru relented and gave him a good rating, he was sure Lawless would have some way to find out if he gave the other a bad rating. 

Mahiru clicked the okay when suddenly he was spawned in another place, something akin to a small town inn. It was cozy enough with an empty wardrobe and a bed, a small mirror and desk with nothing much on it. He hoped he hadn't spawned in someone else's house… he said aloud menu, seeing the menu pop up he checked around to see if there was any new information. 

Oh, so it was his house/inn. He wished someone had explained that to him before he was thrown into the game. He found the small map icon, most of it was greyed out since he hadn't discovered it. But the things that weren't were the inn he currently resided in and the bar downstairs. 

Hopping off the bed he left his room, not finding a key anywhere to lock it he hoped no one would break in. But really why would it matter? He didn't really own anything yet. His door did have his username on it, that was a pretty clear sign it was his. Nice of the game to give him somewhere to start, though some cash would have been nice too. 

Once he got down to the bar it was nicer than he expected and a lot more decorated than the plain automated bedrooms. It had a large wooden bar counter, where a few NPCs waited behind to take orders and players cheerily chatted amongst themselves. Down more to the right was couches and coffee tables by the windows and he found himself attracted to the different kinds of players that waited here. 

There were some that were painfully obviously new- probably like himself and others that looked like they'd played it all their life with customized accessories and skills. It wasn't long before he noticed another new person sitting by the window with the username 'CryptidKoKo'. Mahiru grinned happily, sliding into the spot next to him. 

"Koyuki!" Koyuki jumped a little, before smiling widely at Mahiru and pulling him in for a hug. "Did Sakuya get you too?" Mahiru joked, seeing a solemn nod in reply. 

"I got my account a day or two ago but I'm still trying to figure it out… I had a useless tutorial helper. I really hope you got a better one than I did." Koyuki whined. 

"Lawless?"

"Lawless the 'one and only'" Koyuki said with a grunt. "So as it turns out theres so many classes he forgot to tell me about! Did you know there was a Archer class?!" Mahiru laughed and nodded. 

"Yeah he told me about that. What class are you?"

"I'm a faerie!" Koyuki lit up with a smile. 

"What! He didn’t tell me about that!" Mahiru's Jaw dropped with an annoyed huff while Koyuki snickered. "I'm a Mage by the way."

"Of course you are, nothings ever simple about you Mr. Simple." Koyuki said playfully hitting him in the side. "Now go explore! What are you waiting for. I'd recommend checking out a few shops along this street, there's some pretty neat stuff, especially the books on mage spells. There's also some fields out back with smaller enemies if you wanna practice some things you learnt." Koyuki explained. 

"Wow you're already more helpful than Lawless." Mahiru rolled his eyes. 

"Trust me I know, I had to learn this myself. The hard way. Oh! Wait! Before you go, Menu." Koyuki tapped a few things on his screen before swiping an friend request over to Mahiru, Mahiru quickly accepted it with a smile before waving and running out the door. 

He felt the atmosphere hit him with excitement, people rushing from one place to another from shop to shop. Around him, each displayed their username above their player. Some had rainbow hair with bright yellow ears, some with beautiful black wings and others with sharp teeth or even… was that Christmas lights? He shook the thought away. Surely that wasn't a modification, just a person… wearing Christmas lights… not weird at all- okay yeah it was weird. 

He continued to walk down, excitement bubbling in each step as he passed the shops. Shops you'd never see in a normal supermarket, things for weapons and training and celebrities… He could see why Sakuya loved his world almost more than the real one. He found himself inside the magic shop, luckily enough it'd be one he would have been drawn too regardless of his class. 

The inside was very calming and a little dark, small candles were placed around the entrance that let out an airy fresh scent. He curiously peeked around, noticing piles of books behind the counter where a girl with short white hair sat, threading thin wires carefully as she hummed when he entered. 

"Onogiri?" He read her username out loud with a quizzical look, you had to be pretty dedicated to a food to name your account after it.

"Please… Call me Otogiri… It was a friend" Mahiru felt bad for Otogiri suddenly. "You're a mage." She stated after examining him.

"Yeah… hoping I could get some things here?" Mahiru asked with a chuckle. 

"… Mages are quite rare around here. A couple updates ago they mostly died out." Otogiri softly said Menu, clicking a few things before swiping a friend request over. "You can message me for advice… Being a mage can be quite difficult and complicated." Mahiru lit up, accepting the request with a huff of pride. 

"Thank you! I'd appreciate that." Mahiru brightly grinned. She wordlessly handed him a book from her pile before continuing to thread a needle. He figured it must be some kind of voodoo magic… putting spells on the strings perhaps? 

He thanked her and took the book, sitting down on the small window sill with a cushion as he opened the book. It had a good introduction to the mage craft, basic things about what he could do and what he had to work on. He could of course brew spells. Spells could come in different forms, some can be sprayed on objects to make them do things such as move or fly or talk (you had to add a scent of Rhyun feathers for that). Some could simply be used to boost your energy or magic levels and some could be used as poison. Poison and Energy boosters were quite popular amongst Brawler's and Assassins and many mages made a good amount of money through selling the potions. 

So that was the spells. It seemed simple enough, combine different properties to make different things. Some could be found in the woods with enough searching but others had to be bought at Mage stalls. The first chapter was on getting a "lead" which was, summed up, your weapon. Otogiri's lead… it must have been the string she threaded as they talked. 

It's made out of an everyday item, even a pot plant would work. It becomes your personal weapon, transport and everything else. It's there to help you with basic combat without spells and is infused with magic essence. You can change your Lead later in the game but it's not recommended as your lead grows stronger with you, the more you use it. 

He flipped through the rest of the pages, frown growing. It got so much more complicated, it was heavier than any math book he'd ever studied. Mahiru sighed knowing he'd never finish it in the shop. "Hey? Do I have to buy this? I have no money at the moment…"

"… Just take it." 

"Really? Thank you!" Mahiru grinned, waving goodbye as he quickly took the book back to his room. He put it down determined on the bed and started to look around, he really didn't have… anything at all to use for a lead. He couldn't do anything until he had a lead. 

Mahiru hummed as he sorted through his room, eventually finding a broom. "Not bad I guess." He sighed. And held the lead in front of him. "Shit what was the chant." He flipped to the first chapter once again, skimming over it again. A catchphrase? Something he said a lot to activate it. It had to be something close to your heart-

Well, he knew it really didn't. It was just a game. But it was a nice incentive and he wanted to fully indulge in the game a little. 

"Simplex est optima!" He yelled, instantly feeling the room glow with energy and power, his arm felt alight with power and magic leaving him breathless. The broom glowed, turning and shaping with a blue flame like energy at the end. It formed to fit perfectly to him and him only and once it was done the room dropped back to normal, the burn on his hand gone once more. 

He gasped in shock, stumbling back slightly. Mahiru eventually picked up the broom slowly, swinging it around carelessly. He was aware he was no good at it, but the broom seemed to make do, still making powerful swings that could knock out an enemy. Mahiru smiled giddily, running downstairs hoping to show Koyuki but it seemed he had already logged out or left. 

"Menu." Mahiru let the broom down next to him to check and indeed, he was offline. Oh well. He shook his head and thought about the book, most of the spells would require a higher level and a lot of things. One of the easier things to get should be monster droppings, Xia horns was a prominent ingredient in the energy boosters. 

He went to pick up his broom with his mind made up and found it was hovering next to him on its own- flying with its blue highlights jumping from side to side as if itching to fly. Mahiru laughed and tried to walk through the lounge, noticing that it eagerly followed. He couldn't help but giggle a little as it followed him along down the crowded street of markets. 

He felt bubbly excitement as he made his way through the people, apologizing profusely when he bumped into the occasional rough mage or quiet archer while he was distracted with cool items for sale on the window. He continued to run by, eventually finding himself at the end of the game world.

There was bright text at the edge with the letters The Field- Mahiru's destination. He smiled and walked forward, yelping as he was thrown back a bit as if he'd walked into an electric glass door. Some nearby stifled giggles as he glared holes right back at them, he could be blamed! He was new!

But if that wasn't it… how? 

Mahiru notice his lead jumping towards the wall, picking it up he seemed to get the hint. He really had no idea how to use it, but it was a magic broom so surely it had to fly? He jumped onto the broom, sighing in relief when it stayed in the air, clinging in worry when it wavered. 

He held on tight to the front, leaning over as he closed his eyes and pushed off. He let out a loud noise of awe and happiness as the broom took off past the wall, feeling the wind past his face as if he were really flying through a beautiful open field higher into the sky. 

Mahiru leant downwards into a slow descent to the ground like a motorbike, jumping off as he reached the grass. Luckily enough he was the only one in the field- although if more than 5 people wanted in at once they'd spawn a new one so it didn't get too crowded. Still.

It wasn't long before a Xia slowly watched him from the wood frontier, their long dark antlers poking out from underneath the green bush, unblinking gold eyes turning to slits as Mahiru brought lead carefully in front of him. It recognized him as a threat, he knew as soon as he could hear its hooves thumping towards him at a fast speed. 

Mahiru squeaked, panicking and starting to run in the opposite direction. He didn't know how to fight! He already knew it was much faster than him without any potions, but it was a game he supposed. Mahiru continued running with his lead beside him, getting a running start before jumping onto the lead mid run. The lead easily gained speed as he tilted up, speeding off into the sky and stopping to turn and watch the Xia. 

If he had any potions he could drop one on it. Mahiru was already starting to think like a proper mage, something he held a little pride in. He took a moment before getting his adrenaline back, diving down towards it in a steep fast swoop he caught the Xia off guard. 

Mahiru jumped off the broom, feeling it in his hand before he even had to grab it and swatted violently at the Xia who tried to attack back with its antlers. He panicked and held the broom up, pushing back and with a final yell the beast fell to the ground. It took him a second, before he jumped up in the air in joy. 

"Hell yeah! Menu!" Mahiru excitedly checked his items pocket, noticing his cash increase and Xia horns along with Xia fur was now in his inventory. He smiled giddily, his first kill. Despite the fact that it was a program he still felt bad having to attack it… he couldn’t wait to move onto the evil bosses. 

Though they would be a lot harder. 

Mahiru took a deep breath, ready to face another small weak creature until he had enough money for more materials. Over the hills he could hear a distant thundering roar, involuntarily he took a step back with a gulp. It's a game! It's a game. He still knew his avatar had paled considerably. 

The soft sky seemingly broken by the head of something larger than entire towns, it's ridiculously high definition light blue scales glimmered in the sun. Mahiru could see its narrow black eyes that aimed to kill with a slit of red down the middle, the eyes watched him and him only as the beast stood up slowly. Along its back ran curved spikes and spines, sharp enough to kill someone but perfectly shaped as if made for an art project. 

It had a long tail that it swiftly moved from one side to the other, knocking over anything in its path. It was amazing, but it was terrifying. Mahiru had truthfully never seen anything like it, majestic would be a word. So would dangerous and RUN! 

Mahiru shook out of his trance, screaming as the dragon let out a 'small' growl that rumbled the whole field. He had no chance. The dragon had to be at least fit for a level 500, even then they'd have trouble. He was level 1! He had trouble with a Xia! He gulped. If he died here he'd have to pay to continue to respawn, it was how the game looped you in. But damnit he didn't want to die!

Mahiru jumped on his lead, knowing he had no chance but speeding off as fast as it'd take him. Faster! If that dragon took a single step it would crush him! He closed his eyes against the harsh wind, clenching his teeth as he leaned forward in a desperate beg for speeds he wasn't ready for. 

Then, the inevitable came. Mahiru's body was thrown off the broom and tossed to the side like a ragdoll as the dragon stomped once, he coughed and the health bar lowered, his avatar appeared to have scratches and bruises that stung giving a more realistic effect of a fight. That wasn't fair! He didn't sign up for that! He stood up regardless, running as fast as his legs would take him away from the large beautiful blue dragon. 

Before he could reach out for the lead once more the dragon lifted up wings Mahiru didn't even realize it had. They were long and scaley but moved with frightening precision, the wind literally taken out of the whole field. Not even a second later, Mahiru was face to face with the dragon that snarled at him. 

"I'll go down fighting!" He shouted as loud as he could, feeling it echo back to him as he grabbed his lead and held it in a fighting position in front of him. His eyes were lit ablaze with determination and spirit, there was nothing to do but his best! How many other level 1 players did it kill? Surely they all wanted someone to defeat it. Someone, that someone probably wouldn't be him this time. But like hell he'd give up and let it kill him!

"What a pain…" A rough voice shot through the field, cutting the tension in half. Mahiru spun around to see another player had spawned right behind him, 'SleepyAshTheSilentDemise' apparently. He sighed boredly as if this was nothing to be concerned about, putting his tongue to the corner of his lips as he pushed his long blue hair out of his eyes to reveal piercing red eyes with contrasting bags under his eyes. If there was a word he'd put too it, it'd be beautiful. 

This Sleepy Ash, stood forward. He held out a hand with a confident stoic face, shouting phrases in Latin that Mahiru couldn't quite understand. The dragon seemed angered, fury blazing as it puffed up its chest and blew out a blazing trail of ice towards them. The man remained unphased, he jumped up into the air and Mahiru awed as he flew and suspended in the air above ice without any kind of object. 

"What a pain, she's resistant…" Sleepy Ash mumbled with the same low deep voice, putting one foot in front of the other as he went into a battle crouch. It was like a show down, the massive beast stared him down while Sleepy Ash simply stared back unwavering. It wasn't long before the dragon was tired, making the first move to attack with an ice splinter flying too fast to comprehend straight at them. He flinched, despite being nowhere near the action. 

Sleepy Ash rolled out of the way, intense blue energy radiating off him as he lept up towards the dragons head and landed with a thud right in the centre. His movements were without fault, intensely perfect. Was that how the pros fought? Mahiru winced again, hoping Sleepy Ash didn't see him pathetically running away and swatting at a small Xia. 

Sleepy ash shouted something lost with the wind as he place his hand between the dragons eyes, the same blue light and energy leaving him as the dragon lit up in a blue flame. But… it wasn’t a dangerous flame. It reminded him of his own lead, a kind fire, representing a compassion that the owner had to have possessed. The dragon let out a small sound that sounded like acceptance, it slowly lessened in size until the dragon once as big as multiple cities was down to the size of a very large horse. 

Sleepy Ash sighed, giving a very small smile quickly covered up by the same stoic expression as he ran his hand down the dragons spines. No… this Sleepy Ash didn't kill it. He trained it. What are the chances he came across a BEAST TAMER?! Mahiru gasped, letting air back into his lungs he didn't really know he'd neglected. 

"SleepyAsh…" He said out loud, watching in awe. The man put down his hoodie and approached Mahiru, his posture now slouched over and relaxed. 

"Call me Kuro. Sorry she was bothering you." He said briefly, giving her a scratch that she seemed to thoughrouly enjoy like an oversized puppy. 

"You're… you're a beast tamer!" Mahiru could barely believe himself, a beast tamer with this much skill was almost impossible. He didn't know if he could even imagine the level this Kuro might be on, now that he had this dragon on his side he must be almost impossible to fight. 

"And you're a mage, a new one at that. Such a pain." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, Mahiru couldn't help but find it cute. The confidence and powerful aura he emitted in battle was hidden away, really he was just shy and a little awkward. 

"I'm Mahiru! It's nice to meet you Kuro!" Mahiru grinned and Kuro nodded, seemingly in thought 

"Show me your lead." Mahiru's grin wavered in confusion, why his lead? Well, it certainly couldn't hurt either way. He handed over the broom and Kuro took it with ease, though it didn't respond to him the same way it responded to Mahiru. "You shouldn't give your lead to strangers you know, leaves you defenceless." He commented with the raise of an eye brow. That… that was a good point. 

"I'm new okay! And you're the one that asked for it!" Mahiru panicked.

"I'm not gonna hurt you relax, it was just a pointer." Kuro put his hands up with a small chuckle. "It's just… the colour. You don't get many blue mages these days." He said with a fond look of nostalgia. 

"What do you… what does that mean?" Mahiru asked, looking at his own lead. 

"Ah. You got Lawless too didn't you." Kuro sighed and groaned. "That fucking-"

"I'm guessing he uh, messed with a lot of players?" He wasn't sure if he wanted the answer

"You have no idea, he told one that the only way to defeat enemies was to twirl around 5 times and sing Shakira hips don't lie. I never want to witness that ever again." Kuro shook his head handing Mahiru's lead back. "Players usually get assigned colours, it's random but… there hasn't been another blue in a long time." 

Kuro looked down at his own Menu as a beep notification appeared, he swiped across to read and groaned quietly. 

"Hey look, this is weird and you don't have to say yes. You probably didn't know because you're new but I'm a Servamp class too, Servamps are paired with other players to make a team in a race to 'Beat the game'. No one's ever beaten it before, no one's quite sure how. The paired up ones are called Eves… you have to pair with someone with your colour." Kuro explained, knowing Lawless wouldn't have. 

Before he had even asked the question Mahiru shouted "Yes!" with a smile. "I… I mean." Suddenly quieting down when he realized how eager he seemed, flushing red at the tips of his ears. "It'll be fun right? You looked really cool with the dragon and I want to go on more adventures." Also, you're hot and I might be a little gay. That part wasn't important. 

"Huh. That was… easier than I imagined." Kuro exhaled, swiping a friend request over to Mahiru who accepted. "You don't have to do much, don't expect much. I kinda leave most of it to my siblings, I don't care about beating the game." Kuro raised an eye brow at him and shrugged. Mahiru's excited smile turned into a frown, without even thinking he lightly hit Kuro over the head. 

"I don't care if you're a Servamp class or whatever, but you can't think like that! Games are for fun, there's no fun in lazing around and letting others do the work!" Mahiru mothered. "And while we're at it! Do you ever sleep in real life?! Your bags are ridiculous, you know sleep is important for a healthy mind and body!" He shouted while Kuro whined. 

"Don't abuse your cute Servamp…" He complained. "And I could say the same to you. Unless you're in a different timezone it should be… 2am by now?" Kuro said in questioning tone before nodding in confirmation. Mahiru's blood ran cold. There's no way he was playing that long. 

"No…" 

He checked the time on his Menu and indeed, it was 2am in the morning. He cursed and shouted in horror. "No! Oh my god it's 2am! Oh my god!" He ran his hands through his hair, what happened to his schedule?! "Bye Kuro! I'm gonna log out, I'll see you later!" He waved goodbye before clicking the logout button. 

Before he knew it, the field around him was gone. He was at home, lying on his bed. Mahiru slowly took the headset off his head in shock, it felt unreal, like a dream. A dream he could return to anytime, he thought with a smile. But his smile was ruined when he saw his messed up hair and skin in the mirror. This wasn't simple at all… 

Mahiru sat the headset down, quickly making himself some food before heading into bed. He wasn't becoming addicted to the game… but maybe tomorrow he'd head in again. Maybe. Maybe he'd see his new partner too! He let the thoughts of exciting adventures lull him to sleep.

-

It didn't take long for the temptation of the game to lure him in once more. He slid on the headset and once again he spawned inside his room, the book he got yesterday in the same place he left it. Today it might be time for a few changes, he hated that he was making himself a schedule for a game, it was just a game right? But he made it regardless. 

"Menu." He found the friends list, clicking on Kuro's contact and leaving him a message. 'Hey Kuro! Wanna meet up at some point? I want to know more about what my job is as an Eve and get to know you too of course, since we're partners now.' He finished the message and swiped it out, humming in satisfaction as he looked back at the book. 

He checked the message back from Kuro, surprised he'd messaged back so fast. "Check your money." Mahiru didn't understand what that meant, he didn't have enough for anything significant. Was that a jab at how poor he was in the game? He checked regardless, stumbling back at the number. 

That was way more than he had yesterday!

"Did you give me this?" He typed back to Kuro. 

"Uh yea. It's from the dragon the other day since I technically beat it, but I don't need the money. We can meet up later, kit yourself out a bit more first." Kuro typed back and Mahiru smiled eagerly. He knew Kuro wasn't a bad person at all. He made a small list in the notes section of somethings he needed to get, heading out of his room back into the lobby and down the street. 

The first place was the magic store that he met Otogiri at, he'd pick up a few supplies there first. Possibly some advice too. He hummed happily, walking down the path to the shop and smiling at the tinkle of the bell as he entered. It was empty apart from her once more, but he felt he'd be spending a lot more time than he thought there.

"Hey!" He greeted, closing the door behind him. Otogiri nodded in response, standing up and putting her strings down as she motioned for him to follow her, he didn't even need to tell her what he was looking for before she led him behind the bookshelves into a quiet dark room. 

She flicked on the lights that were strung up around the room, in the middle was a wooden table that appeared to be surrounded by pink energy. Pink… that must be Otogiri's colour. He looked around at the shelves and boxes that were full of all kinds of exotic items and objects and bottles. 

The bottle shelf had to be the coolest. Small little bottles lined up the walls, each with some mysterious mixture and texture, some almost bouncing with power. Despite their different coulours each seemed to have a tint of pink, Mahiru wasn't sure if it was the potion itself or the bottle. 

"I'll give you a small lesson on mixing and spells for a small price, you can take home whatever I make from it." She explained bluntly. He nodded in return, there was no reason not to trust her, besides he was ridiculously clueless, it would probably help him a lot. "This is like a spell table, there's no witchy cauldrons if that’s what you were thinking. It's a normal table infused with your magic, it's what you use to create the spells." She motioned over to the bottle wall.

"You'll have to buy your own table for that. To infuse a table," Otogiri placed her hands gently over the surface of the table, muttering a quiet phrase. The table lit up a bright pink, the hint of faded aura now replaced by a powerful magic that covered every inch of the table. Mahiru watched with awe. 

"Then you'll get the ingredients. All the very basic spells are in the book I leant to you, but to get more advanced spells you'd have to do more experimenting and learning." Otogiri said blankly, pursing her lips as he lined her hand along the dusted shelves, fetching for materials. 

"Again, once you have them they can either be used to boost yourself, poison or drag down others, or you can infuse objects with magical essence. To infuse objects is kind of similar to what I showed you with the table, just drop the potion on it first then light it up." Otogiri continued to explain, bringing out herbs and spices, feathers and some other things he didn't recognize. 

"I'm gonna show you a speed one. When you've finished, you can either pour it on yourself or drink it. If you're planning on drinking it you might want to add some flavours." She added, almost as if a side note to herself as she grabbed some local sweets and put them on the table. Otogiri closed her eyes and Mahiru saw string winding around her fingertips slowly hanging next to her as the room bathed in a pink light while she mumbled her chant. 

The items on the table disappeared and in their place was a bottle filled with a pink substance, it giggled and bubbled away at the seams in impatience to be used. She handed him the bottle and he slowly took it with caution. "Now, the next thing you'll want to do is shop. Your small inn is a temporary house until you get another place to stay, for example I've bought this space and used the back room for my house." She explained, motioning to the curtains at the back of the room. 

"Get some things for the houses energy, candles and some thyme strung up around the room should help make your potions stronger. And remember to get a magic table. Then you should go to the fields and collect things, it'll help in the long run. The forest behind the field is brimming with materials like thyme if that is what you desire. Feel free to message my contact if needed." It felt like a it's dangerous to go alone, take this, scenario but he wasn't complaining.

"Thank you, Otogiri!" Mahiru grinned, taking the potion. "Can I try the potion now? How long does it last?" He asked, holding it up to the small light that flickered above them. 

"It lasts depending on how much ingredient's you put in. This one should last a couple hours so feel free to use it." She waved him off as they walked back into the main shop area through the bookshelves. 

"Okay!" Mahiru lifted the bottle to his lips and took a sip, drinking it in one go just in case. "Huh… it kinda tastes like candy." He said curiously licking his lips. 

"Have you ever seen a child with hyperactivity given caffeine?" Mahiru slowly shook his head. "Well you're about too. Have fun." She pushed him out the door with a little tinkle from the bell and he was out on the busy street once more. He wondered what kind of modifications he could get for himself too, they seemed like fun to play with. Things like headsets and tool sashes wouldn't be a bad idea and he really wanted a cooler adventures outfit. Something fit for a mage… 

Mahiru got lost in thought, wandering idly down the street. Or so he thought. The next thing he knew he looked around and he could no longer recognize his surroundings, he was at the other edge of town in somewhere he'd never been before with unfamiliar shops bustling on the street edge. 

He inhaled worriedly, taking a step and noticing how far it took him. It really was the potion of speed. He looked around at the different shop fronts, seeing a cute looking convenience store he headed in. Might as well right? He was meant to be doing some shopping after all. The cute blue shop reminded him a lot of pokemart from the pokemon games he'd always play as a kid, a bright faerie NPC waited for him behind the counter. 

"Hello and welcome to Pawsomely purrfect convenience store! What are you looking for today?" They greeted cheerily. Mahiru cringed at the name but greeted them anyway, looking around at the items. They had basic things for all classes, including a basic cheap infusion table. The only problem was…

"Um hello? I have a problem." He said with a chuckle. "How am I going to get this home?" 

The NPC smiled blankly at him. "Please reword your question, I do not understand."

"How do I get a table back to my house." He reworded it, seeing them light up. 

"The table will be instantly taken back to your current house or place of staying once you have purchased it and it is in your possession. If you'd like to keep the table on you, by all means simply ask for it to be so." They explained and he nodded, ignoring their strange mannerisms and way of speaking.

"Um… well in that case, I'd like to purchase this table and these thanks." He grabbed a few bags full of ingredients and slid them across the counter, also picking up a cute mage headpiece from the shelf. The NPC nodded and tapped on their own menu, taking money out of his account and transferring the objects into his inventory. 

"Thank you!" He took the bags full of ingredients for spells and exited again, stuffing them in his pocket and tying a couple bags to his pants. He used the shop window as a mirror to slide the head piece over his hair, adjusting the gold stripe on his forehead and blue diamond in the middle. Mahiru smiled at himself, the colour worked well with his outfit. He happily looked from one side to the other to check it out. 

Happy with himself he speeded home, moving the table from the middle of the room down in front of the window with the light streaming in. He infused the table just like he'd been taught too, the table surrounded with a soft blue light. Mahiru made his first spell, noticing the way it looked blue instead. He stood up the mage book on the table and continued to make a few more spells, dropping a few on his lead before shooting a message to Kuro. 

'Yeah I'm ready when you are. What do you think of trying out a dungeon, you haven't completed one before right? I can take you to an easier one. You'll have trouble with my level dungeons if you struggle with a tiny Xia.' Kuro texted back, causing Mahiru to scoff indignantly out loud. So Kuro did see it. 

'It was my first time! And yes please, where should I go too?' 

'Meet at the faerie garden, there's an entrance to a beginner dungeon nearby.' Mahiru closed the menu and swiped up all the potions and spells, taking the extra spices for a boost for himself and hanging them along his belt before taking his lead and heading out. 

On his map the faerie garden was greyed out, but you could still see where it was. It was nearby but too far to walk. He started running before taking a jump, he didn't have to look to know his broom was right below him as he gripped it and soared off in a fast ascent through the clouds. He let out a holler, accidentally doing a small spin as he laughed. The speed seemed to work on his broom too as he sped through the clouds, not even the harsh whiplash of the wind could hold him back. 

He reached the faerie garden much faster than he anticipated, almost sad it was over he took a descent and landed the broom at the outside. Mahiru smiled as he looked around, it was beautiful. It was a noncombat zone too, the faeries were known to be peaceful and nicely let visitors in.

The garden was surrounded by short trimmed bushes lit with small star lights, at the top of the garden there was a large tree with golden lights strung up through it. Throughout the garden people stood and talked, some appearing to be couples or on a date, others friends hanging out, or possibly a business meeting. He couldn't see Kuro anywhere though, so entering the garden he chose to wait by one of the bushes. 

He opened his menu and looked through some of the other options, spending his time browsing until someone approached him. They had slick black hair and a red and white kimono, two swords strung to their back as they devilishly smiled at Mahiru. Behind him, someone with fuzzy pink hair in a large ponytail and cute pink glasses in a magician outfit grinned. Except the one behind appeared to have faerie wings. 

"Greetings Mahiru! You don't know me aha, but I know you. Nii-san finally picked an Eve." NyanTsuTsu said, looking down at him with a sneer. 

"A boring one at that! Boooooooring! I should just murder him." The one behind him joined in, his voice dropping at least twelve octaves. He thought faeries were supposed to be peaceful?! He didn't know players could attack other players… wasn't the goal to beat dungeons not people? He'd have to ask Kuro, it just proved how useless Lawless was as a guide.

"I appreciate the sentiment but it's hard to be intimidated by someone with the name 'NyanTsuTsu'" Mahiru snarked, raising an eye brow. NyanTsuTsu laughed loudly, louder and louder as it stretched on longer than laughs should until he abruptly stopped. 

"Never say my nickname again." He said with a dead serious expression. "I made it when I was young okay! I've had the account for years!" He whined. "I'm Tsubaki, that's Berukia." Tsubaki… the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place from where. Huh. It was probably nothing. "I'm a Servamp, but see the game gets boring when the real Servamp's are out of the game. Nii-san hasn't even been trying, but you're interesting, I wonder why it was you he picked." Tsubaki's expression changed into something more complicated, something Mahiru couldn't quite place. 

"Ah well, I suppose I'll find out how dedicated he is to you-" Tsubaki brought out his sword with another laugh, his eyes narrowing to slits on Mahiru and he felt like a target was placed right on his head. He tried to step back but the faerie garden walls blocked him, he gulped looking back to Tsubaki. This guy was a servamp, assassin class he assumed. He was too much, his level would surely be way off the charts not to mention the person with him.

Mahiru didn't stand a chance with his speed spells and flimsy broom! 

He brought his lead to his chest anyway, praying Kuro would turn up. Well, the gods were on his side. Kuro had slid his way in between them before either of them noticed with speed he didn't think someone as lazy as he was had. 

"It's not like you to pick a fight so openly and in a non-combat zone no less." Kuro growled, bringing his hand up that now glowed an angry blue, like the calls of the deep ocean that tugged and drowned and pulled you in. 

"Ahaaa so you did show up? How interesting." Tsubaki laughed once more. "I'm not here to pick a fight, not yet. It seems you still don't understand brother." Tsubaki put his sword back on his back, waving as he began to walk away. Once he left with his sidekick or whoever Berukia was, Kuro sighed, running his hand through his hair with a grumble. 

"I'm sorry about him. I guess you'll get an explanation, follow me." Kuro said, walking down to the large tree in the center of the faerie garden where a set of stairs led down to a new terrain, a combat zone. "All of the Servamps have our class because of our skill, our goal is to well. Beat the game. But no one quite knows how, each of us tried many different methods, some more humane than others. We all became kind of desperate. That was… until Tsubaki showed up. He suddenly joined with the Servamp class, even though he wasn't with us when we were the first people to try out the game." Kuro began to explain, taking Mahiru down the stairs. "Oh watch your step." 

"Anyway, he became our obstacle. Kind of like the main boss of the game, he tried to stop us from beating the game. The creator of the game was my dad… somehow Tsubaki knew him, but I'd never heard of him before. I honestly don't get that guy, he's trouble, it's better to stay out of it." The creator of the game died in a freak accident. Mahiru felt sympathy welling in his heart but didn't choose to comment, it must have been pretty amazing to be the son of someone who made something so incredible. He figured the rest out on his own. After what happened to his dad, his motivation to beat the game left. 

"Well, it doesn't matter. We can beat him! As a team." Mahiru said with a grin. "Maybe I can't beat him, maybe you can't. But together we stand a chance!" Something akin to childish excitement with the new challenge rose in him, he hopped another step down as his speed quickened. A little too quick for Kuro. Whoops, forgot about the speed spell. 

"You're a pain." Kuro said briefly, but tried to keep up with his pace regardless. "And no one can master the beast class because it was made for me. I helped program the class actually, that’s how I know to use it. He made it specifically for me so I could play too." Kuro said with a fond look on his face, his eyes lightening up with an aged memory. 

Then, the dungeon started. 

Skeletons ran at them, bones crinkling and twisting as they hobbled towards the pair. "This is your first caged fight, take out as many as you can until the timers over, harder ones spawn over time." Kuro shouted over the noise, bringing the blue light to his hands once again. "Go!" 

Mahiru aligned himself behind Kuro, using his lead to hit and attack the skeletons. It didn't take long to figure out that their weak spot was their heart or… lack thereof. He slowly got better at using the blue flame, aiming it at one direction while taking a swing at the other. He matched his movements with Kuro's, if Kuro took a step back he'd take one forward. Kuro had his back, and he had Kuro's. Mahiru let out a determined yell as the next level beasts came out, spiders. 

The spiders were much speedier and harder to catch, running around their feet and biting. Mahiru grabbed Kuro's hand and jumped on his lead before thinking about it, letting it take him up and doing a quick turn to stop them from running into the wall. Of course, the spiders climbed the wall in no time. Kuro let out a blast, taking out most of the ones on the wall while Mahiru quickly dropped a poison on them killing the ones on the floor. 

He let the lead drop and once again they readied on the ground for the final wave. Kuro readied his hands and Mahiru put the broom out in front. There was one, large goblin in an ugly green. It swung around a hammer wildly knocking out walls and lights, Mahiru tried not to wince at the raw power and savageness. Kuro muttered a chant under his breath, pushing his hoodie back and bringing out his hand. 

In front of him, a smallish creature rose from the ground. It stood about as high as a large dog, black scattered and rough skin with lilac purple eyes and gold streaks and chains hanging from its limbs. It growled viciously as Kuro pointed two fingers towards the goblin, putting his lip to the corner of his mouth before speaking.

"Uney can't do it on his own. I could easily summon more powerful things but this is for your training, aim for the neck." Kuro leant back against the wall and watched curiously. 

"Damnit you're just lazy…" Mahiru muttered, shaking his head before jumping onto his lead and flying off. The speed potion came in handy again as he flew around the goblin, getting a hang for the balance needed to fly swiftly around in circles. It got visibly annoyed, attempting to crush Mahiru while being bitten by a rabid beast it yelled and slammed down. 

Mahiru yelped as the light next to him broke, glass shattering half on him and the floor. He shook it off but it was too late to regain the head start he had, he yelled again as he jumped off his lead out of the way of the incoming hammer. On the ground again his lead returned to his hands and he swatted at the feet, the goblins balance fell with a loud roar. Mahiru gasped, grabbing the lead and soaring up to the top as he slid onto the giants back and struck at the neck with as much power as he could conjure into his broom. 

The goblin slowly stopped resisting, falling to the ground before blowing away to ash in the breeze. The iron gates crashed open with a screech as Mahiru turned to smile to Kuro, who nodded in the musky light, looking on with a gaze that Mahiru couldn't quite pinpoint. Kuro strided forward, taking the lead into the dark dungeon. 

"Do you really think you can beat the game?" Kuro said quietly, his voice almost lost. 

"Hm? Well, I don't think I can do it on my own." Mahiru slid up next to Kuro, a bright smile on his face. "I think we can do it together! If you'd just stop being so damn lazy." Mahiru said with a laugh. Kuro didn't respond, but continued to walk forward. 

"It'll be hard you know, you'll have to do a lot of training. You're a terrible fighter." Mahiru hit Kuro on the back. 

"Hey! I'm trying my best! And I'll also try my best at training, you're helping me." He stated. 

It was an unlikely meeting of fate, two people as different as can be. But neither of them commented on the fact that the days that passed felt a little less lonely, none of their friends commented that they'd never seen Kuro so motivated since the death of his father. They were still working things out, they weren't perfect. But as they walked into a hard level dungeon, equipped with spells and boosts, Kuro knew they had a chance. And if they didn't? He'd sure as hell try anyway. 

"Nii-san… you've finally come to challenge me?"


End file.
